Dustin Hodge is an American

television writer A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and producer. He is the founder of Hodge Productions, a Colorado media company. He is known for working on a variety of nonfiction content. His most notable works are as the showrunner for Little Britches Rodeo (TV series) and a producer for The Tight Rope podcast. His work primarily focuses on under-served and under-represented communities and issues: the convergence of cultural and ethnic borders on indigenous peoples, the sustainability and resilience of impoverished areas, and the struggles of first-generation students.

Personal life

Hodge was born in

Stephenville, Texas Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. It sits on the North Bosque River, which rises nearby. Founded in 1854, it is home to Tarleton State University. Located in north-central Texas, Stephenville' ...

and graduated high school from

Dublin, Texas Dublin is a city located in southwestern Erath County in Central Texas, United States. Its population was 3,359 at the 2020 census, down from 3,654 at the 2010 census. The town is the former home of the world's oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant ...

. Hodge graduated summa cum laude from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in Communications and has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

. Hodge is married to Donna Hodge, Ph.D.

Career

Hodge began his film career working on commercials, music videos, and short videos in Dallas, Texas. He later worked as a production assistant on series like

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...

and as a camera operator on shows like

Cheaters A cheater is one who engages in cheating, subversion of the rules to obtain an advantage. Cheater(s) may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Cheater'' (film), a 2016 Indian Marathi-language film * ''Cheaters'' (1934 film), an Ameri ...

and an

Eye for an Eye "An eye for an eye" (, ) is a commandment found in the Book of Exodus 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. The earliest known use of the principle appears in the Code of Hammurabi, which predates the wr ...

and feature films like

Bollywood Beats ''Bollywood Beats'' is a 2009 Bollywood-inspired dance film written and directed by Mehul Shah. It was produced by Kinetik Films and distributed by Breaking Glass Films. Plot Raj (Sachin Bhatt) is an Indian-American choreographer trying to make ...

. He was the cinematographer for the feature film Diwali. Later he worked as a producer on televised sports programming like Champs Boxing, Wrecking Ball Wrestling, and Art of War 3. He was a reoccurring morning guest and wrote content for

KWTX-FM KWTX-FM (97.5 MHz) is a commercial contemporary hit radio station in Waco, Texas. Branded "97.5 FM", the station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. Its studios are located on Highway 6 in Waco, and its transmitter is located northeast of Moody ...

. Hodge has also worked as a photojournalist and documentarian across most of Western Europe. He also performed in live action as an

improvisor Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

within the comedy groups

ComedySportz ComedySportz (CSz) is an improvisational comedy organization started in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by a group of local comedians including Dick Chudnow, Karen Kolberg, Bob Orvis, Brian Green, and others. Match format The traditional format of ...

. Later he worked for the CBS-affiliate

KKTV KKTV (channel 11) is a television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, affiliated with CBS. The station is owned by Gray Media, and maintains studios on East Colorado Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs and a transmitter on ...

, in Colorado Springs, CO as a news producer and journalist. He was part of the production team that covered the

Waldo Canyon fire The Waldo Canyon fire was a forest fire that started approximately northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 23, 2012, and was declared 100 percent contained on July 10, 2012, after no smoke plumes were visible on a small portion of the ...

in Colorado for 130 continuous hours. Hodge was the show-runner for the national television series Little Britches Rodeo and has written, produced, and directed 262 episodes. In addition, he was the show-runner for the series

Little Britches on the Road ''Little Britches on the Road'' is an American travel show on RFD-TV and premiered March 6, 2013. The series highlights rural communities across the United States. It is a spin-off of '' Little Britches Rodeo''. Overview On the Road is a travel ...

, a spin-off series that ran for six seasons. Both series air in more than 52 million homes on

RFD-TV RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United St ...

, are syndicated in another 42 million homes on

The Cowboy Channel The Cowboy Channel is an American cable television network in over 42 million cable and satellite homes, which carries Western programming and rodeo sports. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, later took the name ...

, and syndicated in Canada on

RFD-TV (Canadian TV channel) RFD-TV Canada is a Canadian English language licence-exempted Category B specialty channel broadcasting programming focused on the agribusiness, equine and the rural lifestyles, along with traditional country music and entertainment. The channel ...

. From July 2022 to April 2024, Hodge was the Producer of Lost Highways, a documentary podcast from History Colorado. Hodge has produced dozens of short documentaries covering programming by

El Pueblo History Museum El Pueblo History Museum is a local history museum in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. The museum presents the history of Pueblo, together with the cultural and ethnic groups of the region. The historical site includes an 1840s-style adobe trading ...

History Colorado History Colorado is a historical society that was established in 1879 as the State Historical Society of Colorado, also known as the Colorado Historical Society. History Colorado is a 501(c)(3) organization and an agency of the State of Colorado ...

, and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. He was also a consulting producer for the feature documentary The Arkansas River: From Leadville to Lamar. Hodge produced the feature documentary "Tha Bridge" (2010) that explored the positive influence of hip-hop on society. He directed and produced "Healthcare in Rural America" (2017) that documented the impact of health care on small rural markets, "Oral Histories of Southern Colorado" (2018) that traced the long-lasting effects of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on generations of southern Coloradans, and "Alternative Energy: Clean Initiatives" (2017) that examined the sustainability of

Solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

and

Wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

in rural areas. Hodge's work interrogates issues of class, education, health care, and myriad topics facing America's rural communities. Hodge has produced over 89 episodes of The Tight Rope podcast, which covers issues of race, social affairs, and culture. The series is hosted by

Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, and public intellectual. West was an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election and is an ou ...

and

Tricia Rose Tricia Rose (born October 18, 1962) is an American sociologist and author who pioneered scholarship on hip hop. Her studies mainly probe the intersectionality of pop music and gender. Now at Brown University, she is a professor of Africana Studie ...

. A few notable guests have included:

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

Mayim Bialik Mayim Chaya Bialik ( ; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, author, and former game show host. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom ''Blossom (American TV series), Blossom''. From 2010 to 2019, she play ...

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

Nikole Hannah-Jones Nikole Sheri Hannah-Jones (born April 9, 1976) is an American investigative journalist known for her coverage of civil rights in the United States. She joined ''The New York Times'' as a staff writer in April 2015, was awarded a MacArthur Fellow ...

Roxane Gay Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection ''Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayiti ...

Patricia Arquette Patricia Arquette (; born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in ''A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987) and has since received several awards, including an Academy Award, two P ...

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...

Common (rapper) Lonnie Rashid Lynn (born March 13, 1972), known professionally as Common (formerly known as Common Sense), is an American rapper and actor. The recipient of three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award, ...

and

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, singer and activist. He made his recording debut on Outkast's fourth album ''Stankonia'' (2000), and guest appeared on the duo's Gr ...

. Hodge has taught media at

and regularly speaks, presents, and writes about topics in media, pop culture, rural issues, and literacy. In addition, Hodge is a strong advocate for increased funding for the film industry.

Filmography

Film and television

Documentaries

Podcasts

Documentary (Short Subject)

References

External links

*
Official website

Profile on production page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, Dustin American documentary filmmakers American television directors Screenwriters from Colorado American television writers American male television writers American television producers 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Arizona State University alumni American showrunners Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American male comedians Comedians from Texas